Health Fellow David Riglar

David Riglar is a PhD student at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research who specialises in malaria parasite cell biology. The Harold Mitchell Health Fellowship allowed David to visit Dr Freddy Frischknecht at the Heidelberg University in Germany, where he learnt techniques and completed key experiments relating to his PhD project. He also presented at a conference on the biology and pathology of the malaria parasite.

David was also able to travel to the US, where he attended the Mats Gustafsson Memorial Symposium on High Resolution Imaging. He met a number of world leaders in the field of biological imaging and visited a number of scientists to discuss post-doctoral opportunities.

“While my HMF fellowship-funded travel was undertaken very recently, already there have been a number of benefits for my career,” says David. “Most obviously, the opportunity to visit a number of laboratories in which I am interested to undertake post-doctoral studies has been incredibly important for me to resolve the research directions and destinations in which I would like to continue my scientific research career. As a result of this I will begin work in one such laboratory after completing my PhD.”

“Additionally, the collaboration under which I visited Heidelberg will continue between our laboratories, with the likelihood of at least one publication arising from this research.”

“In the coming years, I expect that the contacts and knowledge gained during my trip will continue to be a great help to the quality and direction of my research.”